On a muggy September evening in Tiger Stadium, LSU football found itself in a precarious situation. The Tigers’ unstoppable offense was stalling.
Jayden Daniels just threw an interception, killing a promising drive and giving the ball back to an Arkansas offense growing in confidence after getting points on its previous drive.
Looking to capitalize, Arkansas decided to take a shot. Veteran gunslinger KJ Jefferson fired a pass over the middle, causing the crowd of 100,000 to rise, anxiously waiting to see where the possibly momentum-shifting pass would land.
Nervous gasps quickly turned into raucous cheers.
Andre’ Sam stepped in front of Tyrone Broden, intercepting the pass and preventing Arkansas from taking control of the game early.
The play was huge, but Sam had no choice. He had to make the play, but for the sixth-year senior and former walk-on, those moments never phased him.
A natural leader
Like many talented high school football players, Sam played numerous roles for Iowa High School in Iowa, Louisiana. He earned All-State honors as a wide receiver and kick returner, catching 178 passes for 2,593 yards and 31 touchdowns over his high school career.
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“I’ve never coached anybody quite like him,” Iowa head coach Tommy Johns said of Sam. “He was one of those guys who would do anything that you asked. You need him to play receiver, he played receiver. If you needed him to play DB, he played DB. He returned kicks. Whatever the team needed, he was gonna do it.”
Not only was he versatile on the field, but arguably Sam’s most prominent traits were his leadership and passion for the game.
When Johns joined the Iowa staff in 2014, he instantly noticed how much the players gravitated towards Sam. Only a sophomore at the time, it didn’t take long for Sam to become a leader on the team.
“If people knew Andre was doing it, they better do it,” Johns said. “If they need a little kick in the butt, he’ll give them a kick in the butt. If they need a hug to kind of motivate them to get them going, he’ll do that too.”
Sam’s attitude and leadership translated to the highest level of college football. In a thin safety room going into the season, he saw playing time right away, rotating in alongside Major Burns and Greg Brooks Jr.
The group had early struggles, giving up 45 points to Florida State in the season opener, but just days prior to LSU’s Week 3 matchup with Mississippi State, devastating news rocked the program.
Brooks had to undergo surgery for a large brain tumor, later being diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer.
Without Brooks, LSU lost a leader and one of its only safeties. There was no more rotation; Sam became an every-down player and slowly started to thrive in that role.
“There’s a rotation of one. It’s Andre’ and Andre’,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said after the Arkansas game. “He plays with a lot of energy and we need him out there. I don’t think he takes a play off.”
A month and a half later, Sam is tied for fifth in the SEC in interceptions with three and is LSU’s joint second-leading tackler, just one tackle behind Greg Penn III’s team-leading 51.
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The stats show Sam’s tangible impact on each game, but his presence is felt not only as a playmaker. From communicating calls and assignments to steadily improving as a tackler, Sam brings a much needed sense of stability to the back end of LSU’s defense.
“When I’m talking to Dre, I feel comfortable. I feel like he’s a guy that can be counted on,” Penn said.
Overlooked
Despite his leadership paired with both individual and team success, Sam never received much Division I interest while in high school. Another example of a small-town, talented Louisiana player flying under the radar, Sam walked on at McNeese State after graduating from Iowa High School in 2017.
“A lot of people at the time questioned his speed and stuff like that, but I was like ‘Guys, he’s a football player though,’” Johns said. “This guy can make plays, he’s smart and he was on our 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays in high school that were always top two or three in the state track meet.”
Even as a walk-on, Sam made an early impression at McNeese.
He earned a scholarship within his first semester at the school, and was a two-time First Team All-Southland Conference player by the time he graduated following the 2021 season.
Graduation from McNeese gave Sam an opportunity to transfer and he landed first at Marshall. He continued to impress, making 53 tackles with eight pass deflections and an interception during the 2022 season.
After proving himself at the FBS level, Sam wanted to come back home.
He initially transferred to Tulane in January, but after re-entering the transfer portal in May, Sam got the opportunity many football players in Louisiana dream of; a chance to play at LSU.
From the moment Sam took his visit, the decision was easy. There was nowhere else he wanted to go. The once overlooked two-way player now had an opportunity to represent his home state on the biggest stage in college football.
“Where I am from, Lake Charles, Louisiana, most kids don’t get the opportunity to wear this jersey,” Sam said after this season’s Army game, expressing what playing for LSU means to him.
Sam isn’t overlooked anymore.
His impact is felt both as a playmaker and leader, now at the highest level of college football. From small high school stadiums to roaring SEC crowds, Sam continues to be the ultimate team player: someone who can play almost any role for a team and has the competitive edge to bring life to an LSU defense that has faced every kind of adversity imaginable over the course of the season.
But as one challenge passes, another appears.
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LSU now prepares to meet Alabama in Tuscaloosa with a secondary featuring predominantly freshmen, with all four of its transfer corners currently inactive.
Sam’s experience and leadership will once again be put to the test, this time in LSU’s biggest game of the season. But as a passionate, football-loving kid from southwest Louisiana living out his dream, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
